ALSUMARIA reports that Iraqis protested in Kadhimiya today. Yes, the protests continue in Iraq. No, the Amy Goodmans aren't interested at all. That's what happens when you bilk PACIFICA for millions while at the same time getting foundation grants.

A number of Iraqi post graduate students at Texas A&M were making their voices heard on Friday night.
They held a demonstration at Rudder Plaza showing solidarity for fellow Iraqis. They say people in Iraq have been protesting their government for the past three weeks. They say people there are lacking basic needs and want to end corruption.
"We are missing power over there, clean water, all of these things are kind of not available. We are having problems with security, the economic crisis," said Ahmed Taiyeb, a protester.

They're standing with the protesters. So far, 14 have been killed in Iraq. Close to 200 have been arrested. Some are said to have been disappeared. At least one person has been fired from her job.

Their needs are not met but they are attacked by the military thanks to Prime Minister Hayder al-Abadi who has unleashed the security forces on them. But not just that, as FRANCE 24 reminds, "Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's caretaker government responded by deploying security forces and shutting down social media." IRAQI SPRING MC reports some see the politicians as mercenaries. (For good reason, too.)

As the protests continue, THE ECONOMIST notes:IRAQ’S ruling elite has survived Kurdish separatism and Sunni jihadism. But a challenge from its own Shia base could prove the greatest threat. Since July 8th the oil-rich south has been in tumult. In the searing heat, tens of thousands of Iraqis are protesting against the dearth of electricity and water. They have ransacked government buildings, burnt offices of political parties and blocked roads to oilfields and the port. When the caretaker prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, went to Basra to calm tempers with a promise of 10,000 new jobs, demonstrators chased him away. He has since called in the army and militias, imposed curfews and cut off the internet. Over a dozen people have been killed, many of them shot dead.
The government looks on, as if at a passing summer cloud. Come September, say officials, the outrage will subside with the temperatures. Behind the barricades of Baghdad’s vast Green Zone, business continues as usual in air-conditioned palaces. Leaders of Shia factions bicker over the results of May’s disputed election. A manual recount drags on. Party hacks haggle over the most lucrative ministries.

ALSUMARIA notes the temperature in Basra today was one of the three hottest temperatures in the world -- 48.8 degrees Celsius which is 119.84 degrees Fahrenheit. Derek Royden (NATION OF CHANGE) explains, "The demonstrations may be even angrier as they are taking place against the backdrop of an intense heatwave,
with temperatures as high as 49 degrees Celsius (120 F) in Basra and
most of southern Iraq. Part of the reason for the spontaneous uprising
may also be that neighboring Iran has cut off supplies of electricity
because Baghdad hasn’t been paying its bill, making air conditioning
useless, even for the few who can afford it."

Thousands of people took to the streets of # Baghdad and cities across southern # Iraq in the latest protests against corruption, social ills and political leadership

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ARAB WEEKLY states that "thousands" protested Friday throughout Iraq -- Baghdad and southern Iraq. AFP notes "hundreds" gathered in Baghdad. Yet nothing's been done. The protesters demands are not being met.

Ahmed Rasheed (REUTERS) reports, "Iraq’s top Shi’ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani called for a government to be formed as soon as possible to tackle corruption and poor services as further protests took place in the south of the country on Friday.
In a sermon delivered by a representative, Sistani - who is revered by millions of Shi’ites in Iraq and elsewhere - told the incumbent caretaker administration of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to respond to protesters’ complaints."

As if to appear to be doing something, today five officials were sacked for corruption. Before you get too excited, it won't have one damn effect on the people's lives. These aren't the officials from the Ministry of Oil, Interior or Defense, for example, these are (minor) officials over the last election. REUTERS notes, "Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi sacked five local election officials on Saturday on charges of corruption during the May 12 parliamentary election, a spokesman for the Independent High Elections Commission (IHEC) said."

It's all cosmetic. No real changes is being made and at least one Iraqi politician is declaring real change has to happen. KURDISTAN 24 reports Iraqi Vice President Ayad Allawi has declared that "Iraq is going through a very dangerous stage that threatens its present and future, which requires swift and firm action that puts its interest above all other considerations and interests as well as change the path of the current political process" and that "the formation of a government like its predecessors will not be the solution. Decisions that do not address the roots of the problems have contributed to the current situation and will further complicate the situation [in the future] and widely increase the tension."

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